One hundred and sixty-four male patients suffering from urethral gonorrhoea were treated in an open randomised trial with either 250 mg (n = 85) or 500 mg (n = 79) ciprofloxacin administered in one tablet. Cure rates in both groups were 100%. Postgonococcal urethritis was observed in 31 of 85 (36%) patients in the first group, and in 21 of 79 patients (27%) in the second group. Side-effects were minor, occurring in four patients in the 250 mg group (4.7%) and in seven in the 500 mg group (8.9%). The side-effects consisted of nausea, diarrhoea and headache. Ciprofloxacin would appear to be a very effective drug in the treatment of urethral gonorrhoea in males.

In a double-blind randomized study, 155 male patients with uncomplicated urethral gonorrhea were given 200 mg (one capsule with 200 mg and one capsule with placebo; n = 77) or 400 mg (two capsules with 200 mg; n = 78) of enoxacin orally. The cure rates in the 200-and 400-mg treatment groups were 90 and 92%, respectively. The enoxacin MIC for the isolated Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains ranged from 0.015 to 0.12 ,ug/ml.Postgonococcal urethritis was diagnosed in 29 (42%) patients in the 200-mg treatment group and 19 (26%) patients in the 400-mg treatment group. Side effects (nausea, headache, and vomiting) occurred in 2 (3%) of the 77 patients in the 200-mg treatment group and in 3 (4%) of the 78 patients in the 400-mg treatment group.The increasing resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to penicillins and tetracycline calls for new therapeutic agents. The 4-quinolone group has yielded some derivatives that are active against N. gonorrhoeae and can be given orally. Cure rates of up to 100% have been reported in previous studies with ciprofloxacin in the treatment of uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea in males (12) and with enoxacin in the treatment of uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea in females (4, 13). In vitro studies have shown that enoxacin, one of the new quinolone agents, is effective against N. gonorrhoeae with MICs of 0.03 to 0.25 ,ug/ml (8). Our double-blind randomized study involved clinical evaluation of the treatment of uncomplicated urethral gonorrhea in males with a single oral dose of either 200 or 400 mg of enoxacin. MATERIALS AND METHODSPatient population. All patients were men attending the outpatient clinic for sexually transmitted diseases at the University Hospital Rotterdam-Dijkzigt. Patients who were under 18, had disseminated gonococcal infections, had solitary rectal or pharyngeal gonococcal infections, had syphilis, liver, or kidney diseases, had allergies to quinolones, and were recently treated with enoxacin or on theophylline medication were excluded. This was a double-blind study. A randomization list ensured that patients received a single oral dose of either 400 mg of enoxacin in two 200-mg capsules or 200 mg of enoxacin in one 200-mg capsule and one placebo capsule. The capsules were taken with water under the supervision of a nurse. The patients were advised to abstain from sexual contacts throughout the follow-up period.All subjects gave oral informed consent before they were enrolled, and the study was approved by the committee for the protection of human subjects at the University Hospital Rotterdam-Dijkzigt.Venereological study. A standard history was taken, and all patients underwent the following tests before and after * Corresponding author.therapy. Gram stains were made of the discharge, and samples for Chlamydia trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae cultures were taken from the urethra. N. gonorrhoeae culture samples were taken from the pharynx (and from the rectum in homosexual men), and the sediment of 10 to 15 ml of the first-voided urine was collected. Blood was drawn for Vener...

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Certain chemicals such as persulphates and formaldehyde are able to induce both immediate and delayed type reactions in the skin. The levels of delayed type response to persulphates (at 48 and 74 h), obtained by epicutaneous tests were subjected to comparative studies of shifts (48 versus 72 h) and statistical analysis. The 95% confidence limit of the mean value of shifts to persulphates was significantly higher than that of a standard routine battery as a whole and, with the exception of formaldehyde, also to that of other individual constituents of this battery. In the case of persulphates, this difference in shifts was due to an extremely low mean value of delayed-type response read at 48 h. The possible underlying mechanisms and the possible limiting rôle of vaso-active amines in the early evolution of delayed-type response is discussed.